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Sending supplies from Piramida to those near Kipumaki cliff? Check.
Sending supplies to those fending off the wild hunt in lower Nod Krai? Check.
And that was barely scratching the amount of supply delivery they needed to do today.
Illuga, captain of the Nightmare Orioles, was the main manager of the investigation squad's objectives for that day, but he was also the one who volunteered to do most of the supply deliveries as to not disrupt other lightkeepers in-charge.
By now, he's grown used to having a busy day due to his role as Captain– though, there were always some days where he wanted to take a break, but never did it anyway due to pending work.
Illuga was checking the list attached on the bulletin board on which other stations needed supplies today, and he saw that majority were already done, which made him sigh in relief.
..Well, except for one.
Deliver supplies to Final Night Cemetery
Illuga's relief was short lived, not due to having to send supplies for Flins, but due to the amount of notices he got today.
The Favonius base near the Cliffwatch camp warned the squad of heavy rains due to the weather being affected by the Frost Moon, and Illuga himself knew that the activities of the wild hunt had abnormally increased today ever since the final fight.
But, as the stubborn person he is, he knew he'd had to deliver supplies to Flins, since many lightkeepers are either afraid of the graveyard or Flins himself.
And also due to the fact Flins rarely leaves his station, which is why Illuga took the job of delivering him supplies in the first place.
"Anleifr, I'll be heading out the supplies to Sir Flins," Illuga said to one of his fellow lightkeepers, "I trust you and Bjorn to handle the camp for now."
"You got it, captain." Anleifr replied to him. "I'll tell the other guys that you'll be away for a while as well."
"Thank you– and please, I hope you guys don't do anything ridiculous..If you need to fall back, fall back." Illuga reminded him and the man gave a nod back.
"I'll be heading off now, see you guys later!" Illuga yelled as he got the required supplies and ran off, despite knowing the conditions he'd deal with today.
Which, to no one's surprise, would take quite a bit of a toll on him.
———————————
To say the journey to Piramida was a bit perilous wasn't an exaggeration– to the point Illuga had to make a stop at his own house there before actually going to the Final Night Cemetery.
His jacket was drenched, save for his actual clothes inside, and most of the bags for the supplies were wet too.
Not to mention the few tears and small wounds from fighting against some rogue wild hunt a while earlier, which isn't anything new to him, but he had some difficulty in the rain.
Right now, he was waiting for his jacket to dry up and looking for new bags to put the supplies in.
Illuga wouldn't usually take this long of a stop in Piramida before heading to Flins' station, but moments like these were seemingly inevitable for him.
"Where is it..I swear I had an extra bag here," He murmurs to himself while searching through a storage cabinet beside his bed. Suddenly, he felt Aedon poke him with something that felt like leather.
"Ah, Aedon? Oh, you found it! Thanks for helping me out," Illuga said to his companion, taking the bag from its beak and now transferring the remaining supplies there.
Now that the supplies bag is fixed, he'll just have to patch himself up a bit before leaving.
He went to his nightstand and opened the cabinet below, getting the gauze rolls and patches. He also got a bit of ointment, rubbing it around his few cuts and then putting a gauze after.
Once he was done, he went to check on his jacket– mostly dry, just enough to not feel uncomfortable from the wetness caused by the rain.
Finally, he internally said to himself. He can set off to the Final Night Cemetery properly.
———————————
It was quiet in the cemetery. Not that there would have been any noise, other than ghosts immersed in their past affairs.
After the battle with The Doctor, Flins stayed in his station in the cemetery ever since the aftermath.
Sure, he was there for a bit at the speech and stayed the flagship, but after that, he went radio silent as soon as he went back to his lighthouse.
Now, he was alone inside the lighthouse– not doing much other than resting for a few days. He did exert a lot more of his power than he usually would, and he knew that, so he thought it would be best if he recuperated before he went out socializing again.
Of course, it wasn't like he was gravely hurt or anything, just a bit tired from the planning all the way to the fight, as well as the restorations for Nasha Town and other affected areas.
Just as he was about to go out, he hears three knocks on his door.
When he opened it, a bit of shock came through the fae.
He sees a slightly haggard Illuga, who's face lit up as soon as Flins answered the door.
"Sir Flins! I'm sorry for the long wait, I brought you some supplies from Piramida and some from my dad," Illuga looked through the bag he was carrying, checking if everything was correct. "If y–"
"Young Master Illuga." Flins spoke, tone obviously laced with concern, "..Did you not hear about the weather and the wild hunt?"
"Hm? I did– but I didn't deliver supplies to you the other day when I already scheduled it..I decided to deliver them today, since we also started to do it with the other stations and camps." Illuga said to him, confirming Flins' suspicions.
..He really still decided to deliver supplies to here again, despite the prior warnings of danger ahead.
"Young Master.." Flins held out a hand and put his palm over Illuga's shoulder, the captain giving him a confused look.
"I implore you to come in. You do not seem to be in good condition from the..occurances, from today."
Illuga was a bit confused at Flins' demeanor, he couldn't tell if his fellow lightkeeper was mad at him for the (unnecessary) extra work or was being sarcastic.
Nonetheless, he abided by the request to settle in anyway.
.
.
.
.
.
As soon as Illuga handed the supplies to Flins, the ratnik immediately started rumaging it looking for water, halting his activity once he found a bottle containing it.
Meanwhile, Illuga was seated on Flins' bed, a blanket draped over him while his jacket was on a seat near Flins' desk. Yes, unfortunately, he got a bit drenched again– which he did see coming, but thought that his friend wouldn't pay mind to it.
"Here. Please drink." Flins hands the open bottle to Illuga, to which the boy looked at him in shock.
"But this is the supplies I got for y–"
"Do not fret. I fear you may need these supplies more than me sometimes, Young Master. And though they are for me, they are still serving their intended purpose with you." Flins cut him off, hand with the bottle still infront of Illuga. "It would be appreciated if you let yourself rest first before heading out again."
Illuga was about to say something again, but decided against it. He sighed, defeated, and got the bottle of water from Flins and started drinking it.
"..Please explain to me why you still decided to go out, Master Illuga." Flins offhandedly asks him while searching the supplies again for any gauzes or medicines. "I assure you I do not mind waiting longer for my supplies. It was truly quite a storm out there, even."
"..Your station was the only one left in the checklist, and I decided it would be better if I delivered your supplies already instead of delaying," Illuga said to him, scratching the back of his neck with his other hand. "And I heard from gramps that you haven't left the cemetery in a while, so I wanted to– ah..nevermind.."
Illuga stopped speaking, the words I wanted to check on you too dying out.
Not that he's never said those words to Flins, but he didn't want it to sound..obvious? Is how he'd describe it.
Obvious that he was worried about Flins constantly living alone.
"If I am your concern, I am alright, Master Illuga. You do no need to worry so much about me here." Flins took the discontinued words out of Illuga's mouth, which prompted the captain to be momentarily shocked.
"If anything, I must admit, I am..more worried about you, Dear Illuga."
Huh?
..Huh??
"..Huh? Why?" The young lightkeeper asks right after that moment. But then–
"..Oh." Oh.
"Sir Flins– are you trying t–"
"Yes, I am trying to make you take a breather. A break, if you will. One would not hurt." Flins walked over to him, ointments and gauzes in hand. "Well? It seems you've caught me red-handed, I suppose."
Illuga's face was brushed with a light shade of red.
Why was he worrying about..me?
"Please sit still while I tend to your wounds, Young Master." Flins knelt down and started attending to some cuts and scratches on Illuga's left leg. "I also suggest you do not do much strenuous activity after the patching."
"..R-right." Illuga awkwardly replied. He averted his gaze away from Flins' face, not wanting to be spotted with red dusting his face right now. Funnily enough, this doesn't help him at all– since Flins was silently grinning upon noticing the dust of red reaching to Illuga's ears.
How cute. Humans are adorable when they get flustered sometimes. The fae offhandedly muses to himself.
"Alright. I'm finished here." Flins says after applying the last gauze patch, standing up again. "Did you already bandage your arm a while ago?"
"Yeah, I did– but thanks for helping with the one on my leg.." Illuga replied, still not looking diretly at his ratnik friend.
"Well then, you may stay here in my room if you want." Flins returns the unused medicine supplies back in the bag. "I'll be cooking if you need anything from me. It would be wrong to assume that the journey here did not make you quite hungry."
"Sir Flins, you don't have to do so much– I swear I'm fine!" Illuga tried to assure him, but it was to no avail.
..Flins was already too good at telling when Illuga was truly stressed or not.
"No. You are tired, Young Master. I assure you the squad wouldn't mind you having one day off?"
Falling for his words again, of course.
..He'll be staying here in Flins' lighthouse for a day until he's deemed well-rested, it seems.
Though– this is not the first time.
———————————
As much as Illuga kept complaining to Flins about how he had work he still needed to do, so therefore he should be leaving, Flins could tell that the captain did appreciate the care and concern– but he was a bit too stubborn to admit that fact.
"We still needed to transfer and escort some refugees in Snezhnaya back to Nod Krai, and I think it might take more than a day or two.." Illuga tiredly sighed.
Both of them were now in Flins' room, where Flins was on a chair near Illuga, and Illuga was still sitting on the bed, now eating the food that Flins cooked a few minutes prior.
"And the increase in wild hunt outbreaks due to the New Moon were more than grueling..We had to use so much supplies– which is why almost all of the squad was on supply delivery today.." Illuga continued, "Pops and I knew that you were recuperating, too. We didn't want to trouble you."
"Oh? Please, you did not have to. I wouldn't have minded your requests for help." Flins said to him. "After all, I am more than willing to lessen your workload for you to get proper rest."
"..Which you barely do, to my disappointment."
"Hey!"
"Haha, I merely jest, Young Master. Though, I truly wish you would attend to yourself more. You are quite important, you know." Flins casually said, as if Illuga wasn't starting at him wide-eyed at his silent admission.
Important to me, he most likely wanted to say. But tried to be subtle.
"..I know, I know. But I'm not that exhausted yet–" Illuga then leans down and eats a bit again, "–I swear I do take breaks! Just, not this time..?"
"Mhm..And back to what I said, I suggest you take one now." Flins reiterated once again, earning a few nods from Illuga.
"I will, I will," Illuga sighs, "You don't need to trap me here everytime, though.."
"Of course, that I am aware. But this seems to one of the most efficient methods for convincing, is it not?" Flins said, a teasing grin forming on his face.
"Oh, you–"
"At least Sir Nikita is not on your case often. Though, maybe I should tell him to be more strict with you getting adequate rest.."
"Sir Flins–! Absolutely not!" Illuga responded in protest, his face forming a pout. "Gramps doesn't have to get involved in this– he's already doing a lot as-is."
"And is that to say you haven't been doing a lot, too?" Flins could only watch in amusement as Illuga was being teased into incoherency.
Illuga's face started having a faint tint of red again, and he looked away from Flins before the lightkeeper could see his reddening face any further.
———————————
By night time in the cemetery, which was a bit hard to tell due to the constant gloomy state it was in, Illuga fell asleep in Flins' bed while the other kept him company.
Flins found it comforting to be able to watch him slsep. He knows that it might sound like an insane thought, but he finds comfort in it knowing that Illuga can have peaceful nights amidst the pile of work he constantly has.
He also noticed the fact that Illuga seemingly slept better when he was around..Whether Flins was just in the same room or he was in the bed as well.
Right now, Flins was on his desk doing some reports from the last few days, making sure he finishes most of it this time. He didn't want to unintentionally add more to Illuga's plate like he's done before– and it is something he still regrets doing.
"..Flins..." The sudden sleepy voice made Flins immediately look to where it was coming from, being greeted with a half-awake Illuga sitting up from his sleep.
"Yes, Young Master? What do you need?" Flins directed his full attention to Illuga, the reports on his desk no longer being attended to.
"..C'mere..to the bed.." Illuga said, tapping on the empty side of the bed. "..It's cold.."
"Ah." How could Flins ever refuse?
"For a while, Young Master. I will just fix my desk, and then I'll attend to you." Flins replied to him, earning a small noise from Illuga before he lied down and went back to sleep again.
Once Flins neatly separated the finished and unfinished reports, he lowered the flame of the lantern that was beside him, but not enough for it to be extinguished– he was still planning to work later.
He left his desk and now walked towards the bed, sitting on the empty spot beside Illuga. Flins found it cute how Illuga was practically using the whole blanket for himself alone, almost curled up like a ball due to the cold.
Flins ghosted a hand over the hair infront of Illuga's face, getting his attention, which was enough for him to wake up again.
"..Mn..It's cold.." Illuga mumbled, leaning closer to Flins' touch.
"I can tell by the way you're wrapped all over, Dear Illuga." Flins lightly chuckled, leaning closer to Illuga to give a kiss on his forehead.
"I take it you want me to accompany you for warmth?"
"..Mh. Here–" Illuga dragged Flins' wrist down, prompting him to now lie on the bed– nearly cuddling him.
"Ah, so demanding, Young Master. Though, I have no complaints." Flins lightly teased, but inched closer to Illuga regardless.
"..Stay," Was the last thing Flins heard Illuga mumble before he went back to sleep, content and undisturbed.
Flins could only let out a hum of amusement at watching him, enamored by the human so comfortable in his arms.
"Have a good night, my Dear Illuga."